FILM REVIEW: ‘The Fundamentals Of Caring’

The Fundamentals of Caring is essentially a road trip movie, but instead of relying on antics, quirkiness or forced moments, as easy as it could have been for the characters of this likable story.

The film follows the interactions between caretaker Ben, played by Paul Rudd, and Trevor, portrayed by Craig Roberts. The majority of the film owes its success to the chemistry between the two actors. Both Rudd and Roberts bounce off each other, and the films cynical take on it’s sense of humour lands almost every time. Ben is looking after Trevor, who is handicapped, and stuck in a routine in his life. Once Trevor convinces his mother that he wants to go on a road trip, they head out to see the biggest ditch in the USA.

Roberts is the stand out actor in this film. While he doesn’t carry Rudd, who stands rightly on his own, he does overshadow him slightly with his authentic fear of breaking outside his comfort zone. This is another great role for Rudd, who proves that he can survive outside of his usual comfort zones of roles, but I can’t help feeling that between roles like this and The Perks of Being A Wallflower, he’s just hitting the sweet spot of what kind of characters get nominated for Oscars. The supporting cast drops in and out, only to push along the plot, and the only one who sticks around is Selena Gomez, who gets dangerously close to being a cliché, but is ultimately charming enough the audience will forgive her for it.

The cinematography in the movie is beautiful, without always necessarily relying on the extreme landscapes of the United States. Instead, it shows us the beauty of the roadside America that is often neglected in travel movies, who seem to focus more on the monumental landscapes than the scenery that occurs out the passenger window.

The story is what plays without expectations the most. The writers seemed aware that there was a risk of this being predictable, and through pranks, twists and revelations, they manage to avoid this consistently in the film. Part of this is down to the great dialogue between Trevor and Ben, which has a natural back and forth, and will often leave the viewer grinning as they progress through the film.

Though this film never strays into amazing, it is consistently very good. It never hammers home a heavy-handed symbolic message, nor does it try and break your heart just to make you cry. Instead you’re left with a good movie, one that you won’t rush to rewatch, but will happily recommend people see, if just to show them something outside the traditional formula.